116 ON AND OFF THE AVENUE INTIMATIONS OF CHR.ISTMAS .i!!!Ì I T used to be con- "'T:. sidered incredibly r;"". for.eha ded to start ;Iì thInkIng about I)I!! Christmas before the f." Thanksgiving table ']L:....- had been crumbed. But not nowadays. This year, the shy, bright clusters of Christmas cards have long since bloomed in all the lending libraries, crowding Birthdays and Get "..,. ells toward the rear of the racks; jn local banks, the imminent dissolutIon of the 1958 Christmas Clubs is pro- claimed, along with the news that applications for 1959 membershIps are acceptable; and everybody has started receivIng mail-order catalogues for smoked turkeys, hams, and cocktail sausages, and the magnificent, hand- packed sugared fruits of California. l)oes anyone think we've been blind to these harbingers? Of course not! We've been out in the market place, looking thoughtfullv at the useful and resplen den t treasures assembled from Hong Kong and Peru, Italy and Seventh Avenue, and keeping our read- ers' needs firmly in mind. This week- in fact, right here and now- we'll tell you what we've found in the way of presents for women, along with a few things for gIrls. And in the weeks to come we'l] deal with gifts for chIldren and men, and such matters as food for the holidays and both presents and decorations for the manor. (Our idea is to help you shop for other people, but, come right down to it, there is no house rule forbidding you to think about what those other people, blessed as they are, could give you.) All prices quoted include luxury taxes wherever they apply. They apply to furs, for in- stance-certainly one of the most useful of luxuries. Since we discussed coats of mink and broadtail and so on in these columns a few weeks ago, we won't go into them again; let it suffice to say yes, Virginia, any woman who gets a mink coat for ChrIstmas will be hap- py to answer your question. vVe do, however, want to mention a few lesser, and yet appeahng, fur whimseys, turned out by the little helpers up at the North Pole The whimsey news this year is the fur boa, the height of elegance some thirty years ago and very much in favor once again. Boas are bewitching on fairly tall, grace- ful girls; if the lady you have in mind is neither tall nor graceful, give her emeralds, or even a book. Bendel has a sumptuous boa-six feet long and wondrously fluffy-in either red or silver fox; $220 for the former, $286 for the latter. And while you're at Bendel, you might take a look at a white sheared-rabbit evening jacket ($154) and a rabbit capelet ($82.50), either one suitable for the very youngest of fur-wearing young women. Back to boas. They can be found, wIthout much searching, in the widest variety of furs. For instance, there's a handsome hank of natural Canadian lynx (four feet long and $187) at Alfred Rainer, 1 7 East 55th Street, and a handsome hank of natural wolf (a hundred inches long and $95) at Georges Kaplan, 730 Fifth ...A. venue (57th). S. J. Glaser, 26 East 56th Street, has a sable boa about two yards long, for $ 715-something -------- .D.tw rather more than whimsical, reallv- while J Diamond, 32 East 57th Street, takes a yard of cloud-blue mink, four inches wide, and by putting a snap mouthpiece at each end produces some- thing between a boa and a scarf, which can also be used as a turban Huwever it's used, it's a fanciful addendum to any costume; $145. One other word about fur: The innocent vicuña, who drew so many snIckers from \Vashington last summer, is no longer funny. ...A.ber- crombie & Fitch, undeniably a straight- faced kind of store, is offering a lap robe of furry vicuña hide for $340- a thoughtful gift for a girl whose limou- sine has a broken heater. N o matter how mild Christmas Day may be in our unpredictable latitudes, it's safe to assume that a spell of cold and sleet is on the way, when plenty of women will be perfectly happy to stay indoors. For '1 stay-at-home who is expecting company, Elizabeth Arden shows a hostess gown with a V neck and a hem that rises slightly In front to bare a well-turned ankle-a sight that made our grandfathers dizzy \ I \ ] A 11 Ì' -'- \ , ' uv {i) ((T here, now' I told you I felt a draft "